1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle having an intake passageway and an exhaust passageway located on the same side of the vehicle.
2. Background Art
In Japanese Utility Model No. Sho. 63-129687, there is disclosed a conventional vehicle having a vertically oriented cushion unit located below a vehicle seat, and an exhaust pipe arranged on one side of the cushion unit with a connecting tube communicating with an air cleaner located on the opposite side of the cushion unit.
The connecting tube and the exhaust pipe in the conventional vehicle are located on opposite sides of the vehicle.
It would be desirable to arrange the exhaust passageway and an intake passageway on the same side of a vehicle, rather than on opposed sides. This arrangement would reduce the volume occupied by the intake/exhaust structure within the vehicle. However, when the exhaust passageway and an intake passageway are located on the same side of a vehicle, the heated exhaust passageway may have a detrimental effect on the intake passageway. Because the exhaust passageway is a heat source, it may heat the gases within the intake passageway, which reduces the density of the gases in the intake passageway, thereby reducing oxygen available for combustion in the vehicle engine.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the conventional art and achieves other advantages not realized by the conventional art.
An embodiment of the present invention includes an exhaust passageway and an intake passageway arranged on the same side of a vehicle. One passageway is arranged at upper sides of the pivot plates, and the other is arranged at lower sides of the pivot plates. The exhaust passageway and the intake passageway are therefore arranged with the pivot plates located between them.
According to the above embodiment of the present invention, even if an exhaust passageway, which is a heat source, is arranged on the same side of the vehicle as the intake passageway, it is possible to avoid any detrimental effect on the intake passageway. Arranging the intake and exhaust passageways in this manner allows for a more compact intake/exhaust structure for the vehicle.
In addition, according to an embodiment of an invention, upper sides of the pivot plates can be connected to a main pipe without providing a designated space for connection, which further reduces the volume occupied by the intake/exhaust structure.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.